A Deeper Dive into lisa’s housing policies
We are in a housing crisis and need publicly-funded social housing and more accessibility. As Mayor, I will:
Work with City Council to revise the Expanding Housing Affordability Ordinance beyond the required 8% and 15% as income-restricted units for new builds
Establish affordable housing trust funds to finance production and preservation of affordable housing, and pursue additional gap financing like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and private subsidies.
Complete an audit to identify surplus city owned land, and then lease it at a reduced cost to deeply affordable housing and community land trust developers to offset the high cost of land
Create a very strong HUD Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) $50M Grant Application to bring in housing affordable to Globeville-Elyria-Swansea (GES) neighborhoods with regulatory restrictions against resident displacement, and then replicate it across the city
Explore progressive financing and acquisition enterprises like public banking and a Social Housing Development Authority(SHDA) involving institutions at all levels of government acquiring properties and then transferring them to the non-profit sectors for deeply affordable and permanent housing
Combine the SHDA and the current Denver Housing Authority (DHA) into a single entity by using the power of the Mayor's Office to remake the DHA Board of Commissioners that would support changing the state law (which created DHA) to accomplish both objectives
Build and maintain these housing spaces, keeping them off of the speculative housing market so we can maintain a consistent attainable rent regardless of the market value of the space
Retrofit unused office space and other buildings into apartments, a recommendation that housing justice advocates have-long called for.
Work with Denver Public Schools to convert underutilized classroom buildings that can be converted into smaller neighborhood schools or community resource centers with vertical housing.
Work with low-income landlords to offset or subsidize their costs for bringing units up to code and achieve clean and energy-efficient upgrades.
Repurpose brown and grey space to introduce dense, affordable, and social housing in Denver
Provide relief for renters by supporting rent control, rental assistance, just cause eviction, legal eviction defense, apartment acquisition funds, co-ops, social housing, community land trusts, and a tenants' bill of rights
Include community members in new development planning by implementing participant-public-private partnerships and citizen assemblies to inform policies and legislation
Legalize citywide Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, which let homeowners build rental units on unused space and avoid displacement
Eliminate the red tape around permits that slows homeowners and builders from completing projects and make Denver eligible for Proposition 123 state affordable housing fund dollars
Push to fix the 30% DTI limitation to match 43% matching FHA requirements to qualify for BOTH OF the affordable housing program and the loan amount
Support the overhaul HOA foreclosures and dispute settlement options outside of court